COLLEEN FITZPATRICK

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Colleen Fitzpatrick, PhD, is widely recognized as the founder of modern Forensic Genetic Genealogy. She has pioneered the use of genetic genealogy Y-STR and autosomal SNP analysis for generating forensic intelligence on cold cases sometimes decades old. Dr. Fitzpatrick's expertise with compromised DNA has led to identifications that otherwise were believed to have gone beyond the reach of modern technology.

Dr. Fitzpatrick has twice been awarded fifth place in the prestigious international Gordon Honeywell Thomas Cold Case Hit of the Year competition in 2018 for solving the 1992-1993 Phoenix Canal Murders, the first case solved using genetic genealogy (2015), and in 2020 for her work on the 1991 Sarah Yarborough Homicide, the first case where genetic genealogy was used to generate investigative leads (2011).

Dr. Fitzpatrick collaborates with both domestic and international law enforcement agencies. 

She is a Member of the Vidocq Society, the Australia New Zealand Forensic Science Society (ANZFSS), a Fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Science (AAFS) and an Affiliate of the Victoria Australia Institute of Forensic Medicine.

Dr. Fitzpatrick is the founder of Identifinders International. She lectures widely in the US, Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. She has appeared in hundreds of domestic and international newspapers and magazines, and on international radio and television programs. She is the author of three books: Forensic Genealogy, DNA & Genealogy, and The Dead Horse Investigation: Forensic Photo Analysis for Everyone.